BOX SCORE

LA MIRADA, Calif. --- Senior Kelsey Christoferson recorded 15 kills and added a pair of blocks in just her second match as an outside hitter, but is was not enough as No. 8 Azusa Pacific defeated Biola 22-25, 25-22, 23-25, 20-25 on Tuesday night at Chase Gymnasium.

The Eagles, who moved up one spot to No. 18 in the latest NAIA national rankings, drop to 12-4 on the season and to 2-3 in GSAC play. The Cougars improve to 13-4, 4-1 in the conference.

Christoferson, who changed positions after a rash of injuries hit the Eagles in the last week, collected a team-high 15 kills to pace Biola. Freshman Nicolette Mather added nine and fellow freshman Rachel Buckley had a banner night with eight kills and five blocks.

However, Biola could not find an answer for the Cougars' two biggest weapons: senior Jill Baker and sophomore Amy Alkazin. Baker led the way with 17 kills and added a team-high 19 digs while Alkazin was simply lights-out, recording 15 kills in 22 swings without committing an error for a ridiculous .682 attack percentage.

In game one, the Eagles struggled to find a rhythm and trailed throughout the set as a result. Azusa jumped out to a quick 8-4 lead thanks to a race of errors by the Eagles. Biola could close the gap to two points on a pair of occasions, the last coming after a four-point run to make it 24-22. However, the Cougars finally shut the door as Baker wrapped up the set with a kill. Baker and Alkazin both had four kills to pace APU, but errors proved costly as Biola allowed 15 points on various errors in the set.

Both teams exchanged blows in the second set which featured nine lead changes and 15 ties. Biola was first to take a two-point lead in the set, using a quick run to go up 14-12 midway through. Azusa Pacific responded with a 6-1 run to take control at 18-15. After a timeout, the Eagles took over. With a loud crowd of 956 fans rooting them on, Biola went on a 9-3 run to take control of the set at 24-21. Christoferson would put the set away with a monster kill to tie the match at one game a piece.

The pivotal third set saw 13 ties and eight lead changes in another hotly-contested battle between the two rivals. Azusa Pacific opened up with a 4-1 advantage but Biola quickly responded with one of its own to knot the match at five. From there neither team could gain a lead of more than two. Azusa Pacific took advantage of an attack error to knot the score at 22-22 late in the set. Raechel Jones then gave the Cougars a lead with a service ace, then set point on a kill by Alkazin. Mather helped Biola fight off set point with a kill, but Alkazin finished things off with another kill to give the Cougars the set 25-23.

In the fourth set, Azusa Pacific wasted no time jumping out to a quick 5-0 lead, an never looked back. Biola was able to pull to within two on a pair of occasions, the last one coming at 21-19 on a kill by Buckley. But the Cougars would put together one final rally, scoring three-straight points including kills by Baker and Whittany Radcliffe to force match point. After an attack error temporarily delayed things, Baker wrapped up the match with her 17th kill.

Overall, it was a tough night for both teams as Biola managed to hit just .107 and Azusa Pacific posted a .128 attack percentage. The teams combined to commit 86 total errors including 55 attack errors and 23 service errors.

Biola will look to rebound from the tough loss on Saturday (Sept. 26), though the road does not get much easier. The Eagles travel to Riverside to face No. 3 California Baptist, which was upset on Tuesday night by unranked Vanguard University in five sets.